British Pornography Site Visits Declines Following Identity Checks, But Virtual Private Network Usage Spikes, States Watchdog
Access to adult content sites in the UK has fallen significantly since the enforcement of age-checking measures earlier this year, as reported by the nation's communications watchdog. At the same time, the usage of tools designed to bypass these blocks has increased.
Sharp Drop in Visitor Figures Following Law Enforcement
The enforcement of age verification on 25 July led to an swift reduction in visits to popular pornography sites, such as the most visited provider in the UK. Figures indicates that user traffic to this site in August were 9.8 million, a decline of 1.5 million compared to the equivalent month in 2024.
Overall, visitor numbers to the 10 most-visited adult services in the UK have now stabilized at a markedly decreased volume than prior to the late July implementation date. Later analysis shows this downward trend in site visits continued beyond August.
Surge in VPN Adoption to Bypass Restrictions
In response to the new rules, use of VPN software—which can bypass geographic restrictions by routing connections through another country—increased dramatically after 25 July.
User numbers peaked at over 1.4 million in mid-August, up from around 650,000 users before the verification were introduced. Subsequently, the watchdog stated that VPN usage has since fallen back, with current figures at approximately 900,000. It clarified that the level of regular VPN use is “much lower” than user numbers for pornography services.
Teenagers Taking Action to Harmful Online Content
In other findings, the regulator's report found that about 60% of teenagers aged 11 to 17 had taken action after seeing harmful content online. Actions included reporting the material to the site to muting the person who posted it.
This research was carried out before new rules took effect that compel platforms to prevent children from seeing dangerous content, such as material related to suicide and pornography. The primary way young people encountered such content was by looking through a social media feed, indicating that algorithms were showing inappropriate material.
Ministers Announce Review of Adult Content Legislation
In a related development, the government announced it would examine the legislation governing pornography to consider whether it is “fit for purpose” in the ever-developing digital age.
“The examination will investigate the efficacy of the current law in relation to criminalising, among other things, harmful depictions of familial abuse and any types of pornography which promote the abuse of children,” stated a justice minister.
Campaigners Call For Stricter Digital Controls
Advocates for tighter control of online pornography have called on the government to outlaw so-called “barely legal” material. This encompasses content featuring simulated familial abuse or that appears to promote abuse by using young-looking performers portraying children.
Suggested changes to government bills seek to:
- Ban pornography where performers are mimicking children, sometimes filmed in settings like children’s bedrooms.
- Extend the crime of creating an exploitative portrayal of a child to cover material where an older performer plays the role of a child.
- Introduce stricter controls on incest-themed pornography, which studies suggests is heavily recommended by platform algorithms.
- Introduce additional restrictions on “nudification” software, potentially making it an offence to possess tools designed to generate non-consensual nude images.
- Establish a new, independent oversight agency to conduct spot checks on adult platforms and respond to complaints of unlawful content.
The advocates argue that these steps would ensure the safeguards that have been enforced for decades in the physical world finally apply to the digital age.
